The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Zahniser Institute for Environmental Studies

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Institution Name: Greenville College
Original/Historic Place Name: Dr. T.S. Brooks House; Douglas Hoiles House
Location on Campus: 205 E. Beaumont Ave.
Date(s) of Construction:

1850	original construction

Designer: unknown
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Other (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, education, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: brick

Walls: hardboard siding

Roof: false thatching; interlocking shingles

Function:

ca. 1847	private residence (of Dr. T.S. Brooks)
ca. 2004-present (2006)	academic department building (Zahniser Institute for Environmental Studies)

Narrative:
It is estimated that this house was built around 1850. The house was built on the top of the hill above the old route that was then called First Street (now Beaumont Avenue), and on the site of the present C.D. Hoiles House. At the time it was built there were few houses in the area, one exception being the house of widow Lucy Kelly Wait and her family to the east in the woods, on the old stagecoach trail.

The house was built in the Tudor style, popular around the country at this time, though it is the only example of a false thatched roof house in Greenville. It is the overhanging eaves that give it its unique look. In England this type of roof was built with actual reeds, but they were not available here-hence the term "False Thatch." The exposed porch supports add to the flavor, and the interior exposed beams provide a true British feeling.

The house was later moved to its present location at the bottom of the hill on Beaumont Ave. It was "dragged" down the hill on boards pulled by horses.

References:

Wilson, Kathryn Eleanor. Tales, Trails & Breadcrumbs, 1838-1938, One-Hundred Years, Bond County, Illinois. Greenville, IL: Naco Printing, 1993.